Trick or Treat - Storybrooke-style
by sandra.barret
Summary: Wherein Regina partakes of Halloween for the first time. Complete with trick or treat, costume fun, and a haunted hayride.


"Seriously, Regina? Never?" Emma asked.

Regina glared at her. "Your festivities have little meaning in Storybrook, Miss Swan. And I fail to see the attraction in this one," she said with a wave of her hand.

Emma looked around the town jail. She was rather proud of herself, given the limited decorations available in town. "Come on, you don't even like this one?" She patted her jackolantern, complete with a carved image of Regina's profile.

Regina raised on dark eyebrow. "Should I be worried that you are obsessed with my face, dear?"

Emma blushed and stood in front of her pumpkin. She didn't dare admit she'd carved it from memory, because she was obsessed with Regina's face. Who wouldn't be? "Well the bats are good, right?"

Regina glanced at the chain row of bats cut from black paper. "Your artistic talents are obvious. What does any of this have to do with me?"

"It's Halloween, Regina. Trick or Treat? Haunted hay rides? I'd think this night was right up your alley."

"There is nothing 'up my alley' that you should be concerned with, Miss Swan."

Emma knew she'd said the wrong thing. She stepped around her desk and put a hand on Regina's arm. "Sorry, I just hoped you'd come along tonight. At least for Trick or Treat. Henry would love it."

Regina glanced down at Emma's hand but didn't shake it off. "You want to turn my son into a door to door beggar for candy?"

"Our son," Emma corrected. "And basically, yeah. He'll get to dress up and go around with his friends. We're just along as chaperones."

Regina sighed. "Fine. I'll do it for Henry."

"Great!"

"What costumes do you propose we wear?" Regina asked.

Emma blinked. "Costumes? For us?" She hadn't thought about that part.

"Yes, dear. If this is my first Trick or Treat, I should think you'd have prepared some costumes."

Emma hated being trapped by Regina's snark. Her mind spun quickly as she glanced around the jail for ideas. Of course no one in Storybrooke ran a costume shop this time of year. She'd been lucky that Granny had a sewing machine and spare time to whip up costumes for the kids in town. Her gaze made a complete circuit and landed back on Regina. Then she smiled. "Of course I did. Easy as pie. We'll go as each other."

"Each other?"

"Sure.' Emma's grin widened. "I'll go as Madam Mayor, and you can go as the Sheriff."

Regina crossed her arms. "Those are not costumes."

"Yeah they are. Can you picture me in one of your power suits? And you in my red leather Jacket?"

Was that a blush on Regina's cheeks? The woman looked away. "As you wish, Miss Swan. Come to my place this evening, promptly at 6."

#

Regina fidgeted with the cuffs of Emma's red leather jacket as she stared at herself in the mirror. She wore her tightest jeans, brown boots (borrowed from Emma because Regina owned nothing quite so common). And of course the jacket. She pulled at the sleeves again. She felt, well, she felt a certain stirring inside she refused to put into words. "This is madness."

"What was that?" Emma asked from the bathroom.

"Nothing. And get out of there, please. Henry is waiting."

Emma stepped out of the bathroom, wearing one of Regina's white blouses, with a blue blazer and matching skirt. Regina took in the view, from blond hair to black boots and back. She felt the blush rising in her cheeks. Pure madness to ever have agreed to this. She looked back up at Emma's eyes, seeing them give her a similar once-over.

"Wow." Emma stepped out, clicking in heels with more elegance than Regina ever thought she was capable of. "You should, you know…wear more leather."

Regina laughed, breaking the tension. "I don't think Storybrooke is ready for me to get back into my leather outfits, dear."

"You wore leather in the Enchanted Forest?" Emma asked, eyes wide.

"Quite a bit." Regina replied, dipping her voice lower. "Quite a bit."

"You'll have to show me some time." Emma bit her lower lip, then shook her head. "Henry's waiting."

They made their way down stairs, Regina the Sheriff (complete with badge) and Emma the Mayor, in dangerously high heels. Henry waited outside, dressed in a homespun vest and trousers, with a wooden sword in his belt. Regina guessed he was a boy-Charming and tried to ignore the sting in her heart from that barb. She lifted his chin in her hand. "You look quite dashing, young man."

He grinned. "You guys look great, too. Can we go now?"

Regina nodded. "Lead the way."

The walked the streets of Storybrooke with dozens of other children and their parents. Regina felt eyes turn toward them, but she was used to stares so barely noticed. Henry caught up with some friends as they went from house to house.

When they reached Gold's shop, he was standing outside with Belle at his side. Belle whispered something to him as they approached, and Gold's smile widened.

"Good evening, Mayor, Sheriff. Such excellent costumes, dearies. You deserve a chocolate each as well."

Bell pulled out two black and orange Hershey's Kisses, little wrapped chocolate drops and handed one to each of them. Had it come from Gold himself, Regina would have refused. But much as she hated to admit it, Belle was a good influence on the Dark One. She took her chocolate with a polite nod.

"Please, eat them," Bell said with a wide grin. "Halloween isn't just for kids, you know."

She popped the chocolate in her mouth just as Emma did the same. It had a smooth taste, better than she'd imagined from cheap candy. A moment later, she felt the tingle of magic, but the spell hit her too quickly for her to manage any protection for herself or Emma. "Damn you Rumplestilskin!"

#

Emma heard Regina's curse as a distant echo in her mind. The rest of her was fully overloaded and barely coherent as the spell took over. Her mind felt as if it were torn in two as a flood of images and emotions tore into her in a flash. There was a castle, with a doting father and a cold mother. Shit, it was Cora!

Another flash…in a stable, with a young man dying in her arms, and Cora's cruel voice, saying once again that love was a weakness.

Flash! A young girl, confessing she'd told Cora about the stable boy. A young Snow White, and a burning anger inside Emma that couldn't find a home or a release, except through magic.

Emma staggered against the side of Gold's shop window. "Jesus, Gold, what did you do?"

Regina was at her elbow, helping her stand back up. She looked into worried brown eyes, and knew what had happened, just as her mind reasserted herself over and around the other memories. "You gave me Regina's memories?"

Regina's eyes widened. "He swapped both our memories." She turned to Gold. "How dare you invade our privacy!"

"Sorry dearies," he said. "But it can't be Trick or Treat without any Tricks. It's a harmless spell, already gone."

Belle stepped forward, looking more happy than worried. "It was my idea… or really Ruby's."

Gold turned to her. "Should I be worried that girl has such a strong influence over you?"

Belle's expression turned to studied neutrality. "Oh, Rumple."

Emma saw there was more to Belle and Ruby than that, but she didn't want to know. "Come on, Regina, let's get out of here before they get any other bright ideas." And before Regina broke her no-magic promise to Henry and blasted Gold into another realm. Not that he didn't deserve it. Christ, how did Regina live with so much pain in her heart?

The walked around the corner and she saw Henry ahead with his friends. She stopped in her tracks, reeling from the flashes of Henry's childhood that pushed through from Regina's memories. She smiled and let out a long sigh.

"What is it?" Regina asked, still with that worried look on her face.

"I remember," Emma said. She looked to Regina. "I can remember everything about Henry, from the time he was a baby." She threw her arms around Regina. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for what you've given me, and him."

Regina's arms wrapped around her slowly, but held tight in the end. "I'm so sorry," she said in return. "Sorry for what my curse did to your childhood." They separated, barely, and Regina cupped Emma's face in her warm hands. "You were innocent, and I took everything from you."

Tears were threatening, but Emma held Regina still. "They took everything from you, too. I know now, all you'd been through. How Cora manipulated you, and Gold."

A screech shattered their moment, the unmistakable voice of Snow White. "Step away from my daughter!"

#

Regina dropped her hands in an instant. Not for Snow, but for Emma. She knew now all the tangled love-hate feelings Emma had for her mother and didn't want to complicate that any further.

Emma's eyes flashed, a glowing green in the darkening evening. "Snow White," she growled. "When the Hell are you ever going to learn to mind your own damned business!"

Snow took a step back, her eyes darting down to Emma's hand.

Regina looked down as well and saw a ball of fire forming in Emma's palm. She put herself between Emma and Snow, pulling Emma's face toward her. "Emma, stop. This isn't you. What you're feeling, it's not your emotions and memories."

"I know," she said, all but hyperventilating as she tried to gain control of herself. "It doesn't stop me from feeling all she put you through."

"What's going on?" Snow said, taking a step around Regina to face Emma again. "What has she done to you?"

Regina held Emma's face in her palms, feeling the power building inside Emma. "For once, Miss Blanchard, take my advice and stay away."

"What did you do to her?" Snow asked again.

"How about what you did to Regina," Emma growled. "You get her true love killed, and then you wrap your sick sweet self on her as a surrogate for your dead mother. She was barely seventeen!"

"Emma." Regina caressed her cheek. "It's history. She was a child." She turned to Snow. "Gold swapped our memories as a Halloween prank. I suggest you leave now, and give your daughter some time to adapt."

"But…"

Regina sighed. "You're smothering her, again. You can't make up for 28 years of abandonment in a few months. I know you have no reason to, but trust me on this one. She needs time to work through her own feelings, never mind the new ones of mine Gold just slammed into her brain. I can't even explain the tangled emotions she feels for you, and I have all the memories. She looks at you and sees all her childhood hopes and dreams for a mother come true, and she sees the woman who stuffed her in a tree as a baby."

"I had no choice!" Snow wailed.

"I know, and now she knows as well. She's got all my Enchanted Forest memories. She'll work through it all, but stop smothering her for now."

Emma took a deep breath. "I'm okay." She took Regina's hand. "We need to talk. Mary Margaret, if you want to help, please keep an eye on Henry for us."

Snow nodded and disappeared, finally.

Emma led Regina to a bench by the waterfront and they sat together in silence. This was not going to be easy.

#

Emma spoke up first, still holding Regina's hand in her own. "It was all you had, wasn't it? The magic."

Regina nodded. "Your mother might be overbearing with the love, but at least you don't fear her as I did mine."

Emma laughed. "Yeah, okay you have me beat there." She took Regina's hand into her lap. "You know you're not alone anymore though. Henry's here." She let out a sly grin. "I'm here."

"Ever the Savior," said Regina.

Emma shifted closer. "I have all your memories and feelings, remember? Even the ones for me."

Regina's eyes widened and Emma felt her tense up. She nodded to her. "And you, Regina, have all my feelings inside you now, including mine for you. Go look for those."

She didn't have to wait long for Regina's expression to soften. This was what Ruby was after. If ever Storybrooke had a matchmaker, it was Ruby. Emma leaned in closer, seeing Regina's eyes shift to her lips and back. That was all the invitation she needed to close the gap. She felt warm lips pressed to hers, tentative at first, but then the mix of her own emotions and the memory of Regina's took over. She wrapped Regina in her arms as the kiss deepened.

It was a catcall from some teenagers that broke that particular spell. Emma pulled back to catch her breath, just as Regina did.

"What do we do now," Regina asked.

Emma stood up and held out her hand. "I hear the dwarves set up a haunted hayride in the forest."

"And why would we want to go there," Regina asked as she took Emma's hand and stood.

Emma wrapped her arm around Regina's waist. "Because it's the perfect first date. It'll be scary, and maybe you'll jump into my arms for protection?"

Regina laughed. "Yes, I know how much you enjoy playing the Savior now, dear. Don't bother hiding it." Regina leaned into her and looped an arm around her waist. "You know your mother won't adapt well to us as a couple."

Emma shrugged. "She's had 28 years as the easy life. It's time she get a few gray hairs from her rebellious daughter."

They strolled through Storybrooke that way, ignoring the stares and the mouths hanging open. And when they took that hayride, Regina kindly obliged by squirming into Emma's lap half way through the not-so-scary ride.


End file.
